Geneva, 28 September 2023
Thank you, Mr. President!
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and my own country Latvia.
We thank the Secretary-General for presenting the fourteenth report on intimidation and reprisals and commend the United Nations’ strengthened efforts to prevent and address intimidation and reprisals.
The Nordic-Baltic countries remain strongly committed to protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms and eliminating any act of intimidation and reprisal.
We are profoundly concerned about the continuously high number of reprisals, in particular repeated incidents of reprisals against human rights defenders and civil society actors, including women and Indigenous Peoples. The reported increase in online and offline surveillance and restrictive regulations against civil society actors are especially alarming.
We reiterate our call on all State and non-State actors to promote and support a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders, journalists and other media workers, and show zero tolerance for reprisals.
Ms Brands Kehris, what further steps could the Member States take to meaningfully integrate a gender and youth perspective in their work to prevent and address reprisals?
I thank you!